Honoring Mom - Mother's Day Sermon

Honoring Mom

TCF Sermon

Mother’s Day

May 11, 2008

We’re here this morning, of course, to celebrate moms, and grandmas, and great grandmothers. Sometimes, even grandmas who fill the role of mothers. And of course, any mother loves to remember those days when her children were so incredibly cute. We love to remember the things they said, the things they did.

There’s the story of:

A four-year-old and a six-year-old (who) presented their Mom with a house plant. They had used their own money and she was thrilled. The older of the two said with a sad face, "There was a bouquet that we wanted to give you at the flower shop. It was real pretty, but it was too expensive. It had a ribbon on it that said, ’Rest In Peace,’ and we thought it would be just perfect since you are always asking for a little peace so that you can rest."

You Know You’re a Mom When...

• Popsicles become a food staple.

• Spit is your number one cleaning agent.

• You count the sprinkles on each kid’s cupcake to make sure they’re equal.

• You hear your mother’s voice coming out of your mouth when you say, "NOT in your good clothes!"

• You hide in the bathroom to be alone.

• You hope ketchup is a vegetable, since it’s the only one your child eats.

• You stop criticizing the way your mother raised you.

• Your favorite television show is a cartoon.

• Your feet stick to the kitchen floor...and you don’t care.

• Your idea of a good day is making it through without a child leaking bodily fluids on you.

Of course, we learn things from our mothers, don’t we? Here are some:

Lessons from Mother

My mother taught me RELIGION: "You better pray that it will come out of the carpet."

My mother taught me TIME TRAVEL: "If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!" (actually – that sounds more like a dad kind of lesson)

My mother taught me REASON: "Because I said so, that’s why."

My mother taught me LOGIC: "If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you’re not going to the store with me."

My mother taught me FORESIGHT: "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident."

My mother taught me IRONY: "Keep crying and I’ll give you something to cry about."

My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS: "Shut your mouth and eat your supper!"

My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM: "Will you ’look’ at the dirt on the back of your neck!"

My mother taught me about STAMINA: "You’ll sit there ’till all that spinach is gone."

My mother taught me about WEATHER: "It looks like a tornado swept through your room."

My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY: "If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times - Don’t exaggerate!!!"

My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION: "Stop acting like your father!"

My Mother taught me about ANTICIPATION: "Just wait until we get home."

My Mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE: "If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."

My Mother taught me ESP: "Put your sweater on; don’t you think I know when you’re cold?"

My Mother taught me HUMOR: "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me."

My Mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT: "If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up."

My Mother taught me about GENETICS: "You’re just like your father."

My Mother taught me about WISDOM OF AGE: "When you get to be my age, you will understand."

And...

My Mother taught me about JUSTICE: "One day you’ll have kids... and I hope they turn out just like you!"

Let’s look at an important passage of scripture which speaks of mothers:

Ephes. 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2"Honor your father and mother"--which is the first commandment with a promise-- 3"that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."

Now, on Mother’s Day - we’re all children. So, to the youth among us here this morning, don’t worry. When you hear this passage about obeying your parents, you might think that this particular Mother’s Day sermon is going to be aimed squarely at you. Relax.

It’s only aimed partly at you, and for the most part, it applies to all of us, because we’re going to focus on verse 2. “Honor your father and mother”

Of course, since it’s Mother’s Day, we’ll focus on mom, but most of what we’ll say applies to both parents – and this might even mean anyone who fills the role of a parent in your life. Children must obey their parents, as it says in verse 1, if they want to be obedient to scripture. Now, that’s not necessarily true of adult children.